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The Ireland Factfile #2

	DUTY FREE
	You'll have the opportunity to purchase DutyFree goods when travelling direct from Britain to the Republic of Ireland, but allowances are lower than quoted above (please note that duty-free goods are not available when travelling from Northern Ireland). For example, 200 cigarefles or 100 cigarillos or 50 cigars or 250 grammes tobacco, 1 litre spirits or 2 litres intermediate products (port, sherry, sparkling wine, etc.). Other dutiable goods to the value of IRnS per person. Travellers under 17 are not entitled to tobacco or drinks allowances.
	MOBILE PHONES
	Mobile telephones can be brought into Ireland. The older analogue will not work, however, customers with sub-scriptions to GSM services, providing they have a roaming agreement with the Irish network operator(s) may use their subscriptions in Ireland.
	MONEY
	The unit of currency is the Irish pound, divided into one hundred pence as in Britain. The exchange rate at time of this page being edited is Stg £1.00- IR£1.20. Banks are open Monday to Friday 10.00am - 12.30pm and 1.30pm - 3pm. Banks in larger cities stay open all day and are open until 5pm one day per week. Banks in Dublin stay open until 5pm on Thursdays. Most bank auto-matic teller machines in Ireland accept the Plus" and "Cirrus" symbols. Visitors are advised to change their banknotes at banks and bureaux de change to get the best exchange rate. Most credit cards, including all cards carrying the Eurocard symbol, are accepted in hotels, restaurants, petrol stations and clothing shops. Eurocheque cards are essential for cashing Eurocheques in Ireland. There is no limit to the number of cheques issued but there is an upper limit to the value of each cheque. Personal cheques from British banks are not accepted anywhere in Ireland.
	POSTAL & TELEPHONE CHARGE
	Postal charges to Britain are the same as within Ireland, i.e. postcards 28p and letters (20g) 32p. Telephone Charges: Direct dial telephone calls to Britain are charged at the rate of 24p per minute, but cheaper calls at 22p per minute are available between 6p.m. to 8a.m. weekdays, weekends and public holidays. Operator assisted calls are calculated for private phones at £2.02 for firstS mins. and public phones at £2.40 per 3 mins. Card phones are cheaper than pay phones and are widely available. Callcards are sold in denominations of £16, £8, £3.50 and £2.00. Most post offices ore open from: 9.00 a.m. 5.30 p.m. Monday to Friday and 9.00 a.m. -1.00 p.m. on Saturday- GPO open: 8.00 a.m. -8.00 p.m. Monday to sattirday and 10.00 a.m. -6.00 p.m. on Sunday. Dialling Ireland from Britain Dial Ireland from Britain, telephone or fax as follows; 00353 + area code (omining the zero) t telephone number: i.e. to call Dublin (01)6765871 or Cork (021)273251 dial as follows; 00t353+l+6765871, 00+353+21+273251.
	ELECTRICAL CURRENT
	The standard electrical supply is 230 volts AC (50 cycles). To use small appliances, you may need a plug adaptor to fit our 3-pin flat or 2-pin round wall sockets. If required, small travel transformers and adaptors should be purchased before departure.
	SHOPPING
	The opening hours of most shops in Ireland are 9.00 a,m. until 5.30 p.m. or 6.00 p.m. Monday to Saturday. Some of the smaller towns have an early closing day. Many towns have late shopping (8.00 p.m. or 9.00 p.m.) on Thursdays and/or Fridays, as do most shopping centres. A small number of supermarkets in the larger urban areas are now open on Sunday from 12.00 to 6.00pm..
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	Hotels in Ireland